Gunn to be given Lifetime Achievement Award

THE Sunday Post’s Campbell Gunn is to receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the Scottish Press Awards.

Officially just retired as political editor at The Sunday Post – where he has worked for the last 43 years – he has been freelancing for the paper until its new political editor, the Mail’s Andrew Picken, is able to take up the post.

He’s been political editor for 14 years, since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament.

Before that, he was chief reporter in the paper’s Edinburgh office.

His career includes covering, in 1995, the war in Bosnia, and in 1999, he was in Kosovo with an aid convoy from Scotland.

Said First Minister, Alex Salmond, on his retiral on the eighth of this month: “Campbell is a veteran of the Holyrood Press corps but, after a lifetime at the heart of Scottish political journalism, the real testament to his character, professionalism and talent is the fact that he will be genuinely missed across the political divide.

“After reporting the political triumphs and disasters at Holyrood, perhaps Campbell should now write a memoir charting his own fascinating and varied career which has seen him sing with Runrig and kidnapped at gunpoint in the Balkans.

“Campbell is a true gentleman of journalism and I, like other Sunday Post readers, will miss his take on events in Scotland.”

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour leader, Johann Lamont, said: “Much like First Minister’s Questions at noon on a Thursday, Campbell has become such a permanent fixture in the Scottish Parliament that it becomes difficult to imagine the place without him being there.

“Campbell has proven himself to be a tough but fair journalist, a thoughtful and wise observer of politics and thoroughly good company, whose interests and views beyond politics are just as interesting.

“Few political reporters can claim to have covered our game for such a long period while still remaining on good terms with all of those he writes about it, and this is a testament to his professionalism and his good nature.

“Having completed a long career in journalism and a loyal tenure with the Sunday Post, covering such a diverse range of subjects and stories, there is no doubt that Campbell has earned his retirement, and our loss will be his wife Cate and his grandchildren gain.”

And Scottish Conservatives leader, Ruth Davidson, said: “Campbell is a scrupulously fair journalist who gives everyone – irrespective of party – a fair crack of the whip.

“He’s also one of the most interesting and engaging people at Holyrood.

“He has a tale for every occasion and a real interest in peoples’ lives.

“Campbell has a famous love of both hill-walking and folk music, but what’s less well known is that he’s also a bit of a runner – I have lost count of the number of times I’ve been delivering leaflets in Glasgow and have spotted Campbell flying round a corner in his shorts. Good legs.”